Leaving a sublet property

Head tenant

If a sub-tenant wants to leave, the head tenant needs to pay all the rent and meet all conditions in the lease agreement.

Sub-tenant

If the head tenant leaves, they breach the lease agreement. The sub-tenant can ask the landlord about taking over the lease agreement if they want to stay at the property.

Sharing as a co-tenant

Co-tenancies are when more than one person is listed on a lease agreement. Co-tenants have equal responsibility in a tenancy. This means a landlord can claim costs from any or all of the co-tenants for things like overdue rent, cleaning or damage.

The bond is usually divided between co-tenants and lodged with Consumer and Business Services (CBS) as one bond.

If the landlord doesn’t receive all the rent due because a co-tenant doesn’t pay their share, all co-tenants would be breaching the agreement.

Leaving a co-tenancy

If a co-tenant moves out, they continue to be responsible for the lease unless the landlord agrees to release them from the lease. The agreement doesn’t have to be changed, or the bond refunded, because the bond is held until the end of the lease agreement.

The remaining co-tenants may agree to pay the outgoing tenant their share of the bond. Submitting a Change of tenants form (186.8 KB PDF) removes the outgoing tenant’s rights to the bond. This option is not available for Housing SA bond guarantees.

Disputes between co-tenants

Guests staying with the tenant

Tenants can have guests stay at their home without having to notify the landlord. There is no limit to how long guests can stay but if someone is staying for a long time, telling the landlord can help stop confusion.

Rent can't be increased because a guest is staying with the tenant.

Dispute resolution

If you haven’t been able to resolve a problem after speaking to the other person, and getting advice from CBS, you may lodge an application with the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (SACAT) who can make a decision based on the evidence.